


The Intimacy of Dreams

by Five Moments of Zanii (Zaniida)



Series: Five Moments of Intimacy (Alt Fandoms) [3]
Category: The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: 3SFMI, Dreams and Nightmares, Dysphoria, Five Moments of Intimacy, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns in Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:41:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25569163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaniida/pseuds/Five%20Moments%20of%20Zanii
Summary: His siblings send him dreamers, and he weaves for them dreams.
Relationships: Morpheus & His Siblings
Series: Five Moments of Intimacy (Alt Fandoms) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626043
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	The Intimacy of Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> [Five Moments of (Nonsexual) Intimacy](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1439153) is a fic form highlighting five categories of connection between people that isn't about sex. I'll be hosting an event about this fic form during August, inviting more people to take it for a spin and see what they can come up with (doesn't even have to be a fanfic! I've done a fan art version, and someone's already agreed to try a fanvid version).
> 
> Here is the order of the five in this fic:
> 
>  **Desire:** Experiential Intimacy  
>  **Destiny:** Secret Sharing  
>  **Delirium:** Physical/Sensual Intimacy  
>  **Despair:** Vulnerability/Acceptance  
>  **Death:** Emotional/Comfort
> 
> These stray a bit from the core form, but they touch on the same sort of categories, so I think it still fits. I'm kind of feeling out the edges. Also remember that the categories overlap to a certain extent, so it's mostly about focus: "These people feel like me" could be a form of Experiential Intimacy or even Shared Emotions, but in this case it's a closeness of body, even though they technically don't touch.
> 
> _(See End Note for comments on the gender-neutral pronouns.)_

Desire sends him a dreamer, one who tends to his own survival in tranquil solitude, far from the distraction of other people. That night is spent in pleasant company, in conversations and feasting and games, in the sharing of lives—and it kindles in him a yearning for connection, one that will drive him to abandon the life he’s made and seek out a much less peaceful life, where he may be happier in some ways but will never be so content again.

Desire is pleased, for their realm is not that of fulfillment.

* * *

Destiny sends him a dreamer, one who may someday change the course of the free world, and Dream weaves for her a glimpse into a possible future. It is far from the actual future that awaits her, but detailed enough to provide her with a clearer choice, to spur her on the road… and to caution her against revealing what the Fates may have in store.

Destiny is not pleased, nor is he displeased, for his realm is not that of pleasure; even so, seeing the pieces work together to straighten out the path brings some level of satisfaction.

* * *

Delirium sends him a dreamer, one who has taped posters over the bathroom mirrors to avoid that jolt of disparity between the inside and the outside. As ey pass another dreamer, ey see the disparity in the other as well _(an arm where there is none)_ , and then in another _(thin where the torso is fat)_ , and another _(shy where the build is scary)_ , and another _(young where the face is old)_ , and another _(pale where the skin is dark)_ , dozens upon dozens as ey move on toward waking; it will not remove the dysphoria, but the reminder of how many are uncomfortable within their own skin will keep the dreamer going until there are better prospects than just waiting another day.

Delirium’s moods are mercurial, so she is not sure whether she is pleased or not; she contemplates this for a while, and eventually concludes that there are not enough quiets in the world.

* * *

Despair sends him a dreamer, one who has spent the day coming to grips with being tetraplegic, and Dream shows him all the many, many things that he had planned for his life but will never get to do. The cut is quick and deep and final, but it drives the man to let go of the dreams he had held for himself all these years, the dreams he had spent decades working toward, and to open himself up to the possibilities (more limited, but still available) of what his new life might hold.

Despair is not pleased, but then she would never have been pleased, for pleasure is not in her nature; the anguish of this night has been rich and heady, but the man will wake with both acceptance and determination, not entirely free of her realm but skirting only at the edges and never sinking deep again.

* * *

Death sends him a dreamer, one who will never wake again, and Dream considers at length how best to send him on. He fills the night with moments of sweetness and moments of sorrow, the recollection of a life full and fulfilled, and when the man’s last breath comes it is a sigh across gently smiling lips.

Death is pleased, not just for the man, but for the effect this final sigh might have on those who watch his bed—and for her brother, who, just like his sister, has found ways to be compassionate toward these little lives that pass through Their hands and are gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I realized that I'd mixed up the verb forms with "ey," but in correcting it, I noticed that I'd used "they"-style verb forms _(ey pass, ey see, ey move)_ twice, compared with only one "he"-style verb forms _(ey passes, ey sees, ey moves)_. I considered the feel of it, and decided that it felt more natural to use "they"-style than the more obvious category. And since a key component of the fight is trying to find (or revive) a gender-agnostic pronoun that feels _natural_ to use in common speech, without being also confusing, I decided to go with this.
> 
> I don't know that I'll write any more in this fandom, although I have one big piece I'd like to do (at some point, maybe) that has a big chunk involving Dream. Dunno if that'll ever see the light of day, but here's hoping.


End file.
